A luminous element of the kind defined in the introduction is already known. By positioning an electroluminescent material between two conductive materials, said electroluminescent material may be made to emit light when voltage is applied between the two conductive materials. For example, an electroluminescent material may be placed around a conventional electric conductor. If a second, thinner conductor, in the following referred to as an electrode, is wound around the first conductor, which is provided with an electroluminescent material, an electroluminescent wire is obtained that emits light when voltage is applied between the electrode and the conductor. For protection of the electroluminescent wire and to make the light visible, the wire conventionally is covered by a translucent, non-conductive material. This type of electroluminescent wire may be used for example to indicate emergency-exit routes in aeroplanes or buildings.
Those sections of the electroluminescent wire that are not intended to emit light are masked, or alternatively the electroluminescent wire is enclosed in a non-translucent material. Regrettably, the energy consumption is the same, irrespective of whether the electroluminescent wire is masked or not. If a pulsed voltage is applied between the conductor and the electrode, an intermittent light is emitted. By arranging several electroluminescent wires the voltages of which are pulsed in different sequences, so called walking lights may be obtained. The higher the number of functions desired, the higher the number of electroluminescent wires required, and as a consequence, the resulting construction is very ungainly.